Brotherly Love
by Arysta
Summary: A midnight conversation between Kenshin & Kaoru leads to confusion and... more confusion! Some spoilers for Kyoto Arc. NOT SLASHFIC.
1. Midnight

MIDNIGHT  
By Arysta  
  
  
Setting: Kamiya Dojo, Post Kyoto Arc  
  
The moon shone high above the Kamiya Dojo. The heat of the summer's day had finally dissipated, leaving a pleasantly warm night. The usual quiet was broken by only by the chirping of the crickets in the yard, the almost-inaudible swish of a sword passing through the darkness, and the periodic rumble of wood plowing into the ground.   
  
Karou sat in her bedroll, knowing from the depth of the blackness why she had awakened. With a sigh, she stood, wrapping herself in her yukata. She had ignored his late wanderings for almost a week, but her curiosity had been long since piqued.   
  
She slipped silently from her room and padded down the hallway. She knew that absolute silence wasn't necessary – Yahiko could sleep through almost anything.   
  
She entered the dojo boldly, passing through the open doors and heading straight for the illuminated space where her rurouni stood. Kenshin had placed a wooden post in the dust of the courtyard, and lit a series of lamps and set them in a semi-circle around himself.  
  
His sakabatou shone in the light, glinting and flashing as he stabbed and spun. He wore only his hakama. Kaoru saw that his bare chest and arms were corded with muscles that shifted and bunched with each movement. Her heart thumped eagerly, uncontrollably.   
  
She waited beside the wooden door of the inner dojo. Kenshin finished his kata and calmly sheathed his blade. She had known that he would sense her ki – there was no way to hide from the Battousai's honed senses.   
  
"Kaoru-dono."   
  
He turned to her, his bright hair falling over his brow, obscuring his eyes.   
  
"Don't hide from me, Kenshin," she said.   
  
He raised his head, and she saw the gleam of his violet eyes. "Gomen nasai. This dishonorable one is sorry he woke you." He stuck his sakaba into his belt and reached for his discarded gi.   
  
Kaoru's hand was on his arm, halting him, before she even thought about the action. For a heartbeat they stood there.   
  
Kaoru blushed and removed her hand. "Gomen, Kenshin."  
  
He watched her carefully, the gi swaying lifelessly from his hand. The end trailed in the dust. A drop of sweat rolled down his chest and Kaoru watched it, unable to look away as it slid down, down, down and into the sweaty waistband of his hakama.   
  
"Were you finished?" She hoped he wouldn't notice the breathless edge to her voice.   
  
"Iie." His intense eyes followed her every movement. "Demo, I will go into the dojo before the rain falls." Rumbling thunder followed his statement. Kaoru blushed. She hadn't noticed the changing weather. She should have.   
  
She noticed the sweat that ran in rivulets down his face, the way his hair was matted to his forehead. "Let me watch you," she said impulsively.  
  
He stepped in front of her. "That is not necessary."  
  
She glared at him, and he relented, stepping back. "You may, if you like."   
  
They went into the dojo, taking the lamps with them.  
  
Kenshin stepped to the middle of the room. "Stay back," he warned her.  
  
Kaoru nodded, backing up until she touched the wall. She bundled the gi he had handed her into her arms and clutched it to her.  
  
He was still for a long moment, and then he went into motion, his arms sweeping and the sakaba flashing in the light of the lamps.   
  
He was dangerous. She had known that for some time, of course. But now, as she watched him swing his sword, she could only see the exquisite beauty of his economical motions. His arms shone in the light, the slight dusting of hair visible in the dimness. It was at times like this that Kaoru really remembered that the rurouni was so much older than she was. The seriousness, the dedication to his art reminded her the he had begun his training before she was born.   
  
It was had to think of the rurouni that way, and yet, at the same time, she always felt the weight of years that perched on his shoulders.   
  
The blade hissed in the stillness of the night, and his swing was punctuated by a crack of thunder. Kaoru looked up as she heard the pounding of rain on the roof over her head.   
  
Kenshin didn't seem to notice the change in weather.  
  
His hakama belled gracefully as he shifted stances, the shadows dancing with his movements. He turned, the sakaba stabbing and lunging.  
  
Kaoru watched, enthralled.  
  
His sword arm dropped abruptly, and an utter stillness fell over his body. At first, she thought something was wrong, and she tensed in anticipation of an attack, but then she realized what Kenshin was doing.  
  
He was praticing his ki-sensing skills as well as his sword skills.   
  
The only movement was the slow swing of the sakaba that hung from his grip – naked steel in the shimmer of the lamplight.  
  
It was fascinating to watch. She could almost feel the touch of his aura as it stretched out. It was like a warm hand on her face, on her thighs beneath her warm yukata.   
  
She could hear the thrum of his heartbeat.   
  
It was incredibly intimate, and she found herself almost embarrassed by the sensation. The darkness of the dojo, the soft glow of the candlelight and the overwhelming presence of Kenshin sent her own heart thumping in a strange mix of fear and excitement.   
  
His ki kept expanding outward, washing over her. She struggled to breathe, and felt herself begin to perspire. Her body screamed at her to run – run fast and run far, but her legs were frozen beneath her. It didn't matter, she was locked in place by a sense of awe far stronger than any fear she might harbor of the red-haired ex-hitokiri.  
  
It wasn't like the coldness she had felt when Goro – Saitoh – had come to the dojo, but a tangible heat that was at once both merciless and throbbing with the essence of the man who exuded it. It was like diving into Kenshin himself, into the calmness of rurouni and the pitiless soul of the Battousai all in one.   
  
Kaoru ducked her head. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.   
  
Beneath the heavy aura she felt sadness and determination. She was surrounded by it.   
  
A sob escaped her lips. She balled the sleeve of her yutaka in her palm and held it to her mouth, but Kenshin had heard it.   
  
"Kaoru-dono!" The aura was gone, and the sakabatou was already sheathed.  
  
Kenshin knelt before her, violet eyes wide and filled with worry.   
  
"I'm all right," Kaoru sniffed, blinking back the last of her tears.  
  
"Gomen," Kenshin said. His hair fell down to shield his eyes as it always did when he was feeling particularly disgusted with himself – or dangerous. "This dishonorable one should have insisted that you return to bed."  
  
She ignored his comment and carefully righted the sleeves of her yukata. "I understand why you don't want to practice during the day," she said finally. "You've lectured Yahiko enough about not wanting to pass on your technique without him spying on you to learn it, but…."  
  
He raised his head after a moment of silence. "But?"   
  
"But you are so beautiful!" Her hand reached out, then fell to her lap. "Your movements, your grace. You have so much you could teach us all!"   
  
Kaoru got to her feet. She threw her hair over her shoulder and stared as the rurouni slowly stood. Her face felt flushed. She hadn't meant to become so impassioned.   
  
"Thank you for letting me watch you practice," she said.   
  
Kenshin stepped closer to her. His hand, rough with calluses, slid under her chin. She smelled his sweat, and became aware of his near-nakedness.   
  
She thrust his gi at him, averting her eyes. The moment was broken.   
  
"Thank you," he murmured, taking the clothing.  
  
His movements were unhurried as he dressed himself, and she was still all too aware of his strength, his closeness. The stained, worn fabric clung to his shoulders. Kaoru found herself marveling at the strength in his wiry arms and muscled shoulders. For a man so small, he had wondrous power.   
  
"I'm sorry I frightened you," he said quietly.   
  
The rain pounding above them made it seem that they were in a place far separate from Japan, from the world itself. It made his apology echo in the empty room.   
  
He bowed his head and the cross-shaped scar on his cheek looked even deeper in the shadows of the night.   
  
"You didn't frighten me," she said, staring at the smooth curve of his chin and the corded muscles in his neck. "You didn't practice before, though. Why do you start now?"  
  
Kenshin was walking toward the shoji screen, and for a moment Kaoru didn't think that he was going to answer her question. He paused, looking outside at the sheets of water pouring from the sky. The moon was almost completely covered. Only a few shafts of light gleamed from the cloud cover to illuminate the night.  
  
"I wish that you did not see this side of this dishonorable one," he said slowly.   
  
Koaru made her way to his side, amazed that he was speaking so freely to her – this was, after all, the rurouni who had at first refused to share his very name!   
  
"What is it, Kenshin?" She dared to touch his shoulder. His muscles tensed beneath her fingertips. "Why do you do this so late?"  
  
He turned to her – finally – and the shifting clouds, by some trick, revealed the stark planes of his face. His eyes were dark shadows and his skin was burnished gold. Kaoru saw turmoil in his gaze, and reflections of the bleakness that sometimes crept into his voice.   
  
"I almost died," he whispered, staring at her, trapping her with his eyes. "If I had died in Kyoto, Shishio Makoto would have destroyed all of Japan."  
  
"You won, though!"   
  
Kenshin grabbed her hand as she reached to touch him. The violence of the movement startled her.   
  
"Kenshin!"  
  
He ignored her struggled to free herself, ignored the midnight strands that fell around her shoulders. "Don't you understand?" He hissed. "Don't you know how weak I was?"  
  
"You weren't weak," she said, giving in to his touch and ignoring the pain. "You won. That's all that matters."  
  
"No it's not!" He threw her hand from him. His fingers traced patterns over the hilt of his sword and the scabbard that sheathed the dangerous blade.   
  
She stared into his eyes, reading the anger there, the hurt, and under everything else, the fear.   
  
"You won," she repeated slowly, "and now you train to make sure that you will win again."  
  
He flinched. "I shouldn't have to win." His voice was raw.   
  
Kaoru felt the pain in his gaze in her body. Her heart thumped harshly in her chest, and she clutched her hands to her breasts. "You shouldn't have to die, either."  
  
The words hung in the air between them.  
  
Kenshin dropped his head. "Megumi told you. She should not have done that." His tone was lifeless, totally divorced from the impassioned forcefulness of just a minute before.  
  
"You should have told me!" Kaoru burst out. "Your discipline is killing you!"   
  
She was crying, she realized, as a sob bubbled out of her throat. She pulled the worn panels of the yukata tighter around her neck. "I'm sorry if you didn't want her to tell me," she finally managed to say, "but we need you, even if you don't see that. Yahiko and I, and even Sano, we need you here for us."  
  
"You need my sword," Kenshin said. "I am not my sword."   
  
His tone was rough again, so rough that she stepped closer to look into his eyes, suspecting that she had, however unwittingly, called the dark half of Kenshin to herself with her prattle.  
  
His eyes weren't amber, but neither were they the innocent violet she had come to expect. They were a mix of both, a deep, shadowed amber that held hints of lightness. A thrill spilled down her back, but she didn't know if what she felt was fear, or anticipation.   
  
"We need more than that, Kenshin," she chided gently.   
  
He looked at her. He looked vulnerable, uncertain. "Do you, Kaoru-dono?"  
  
Steeling herself, Kaoru dared the impossible. She reached out her hand, touching the collar of his gi and soothing the worn fabric against the hot, sweaty flesh beneath it. This close, he smelled of man and sweat, and a faint hint of the laundry soap that he used every day. She could feel him outside of his skin, like he was larger than he appeared. It was as if her hand was in his chest, touching his heart, instead of merely resting on the flat planes of muscle that held him together.  
  
"Of course we do. You're like a father to Yahiko, and … and like a brother to me." A brother? Where, she wondered, had that unlikely comparison come from? "We're a family now, Kenshin. You cannot think that what affects you does not affect us."   
  
"Kaoru-dono." Slowly, his arms came around her.   
  
She gasped as she was enfolded in his arms. "Thank you, Kaoru-dono." He released her, and smiled a bright smile. "Though this unworthy one does not know if he likes to be called brother…"   
  
Kaoru saw the shadow of disappointment in his gaze. Could she dare to hope?   
  
There was a muffled crack of thunder. The storm was passing. The rain had slackened off, she realized. The night was growing late. Kaoru found herself yawning.  
  
"Are you finished for tonight, then?"   
  
"Hai."   
  
He stood at her back, watching as the rain pattered over the edge of the roof and plopped to the ground below. Each drop reflected the shine of the lamp's light as it fell, making it look like a thousand stars were falling past her eyes. She took a step back, and leaned into his warmth.   
  
He didn't touch her, but she felt the warm slide of his ki caress her entire body in waves of strength.   
  
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu won't kill me," Kenshin said at last. "That is the reason that my practice is so important, it keeps my body at a point where it can maintain the stress of my discipline." He paused while the rain slowed to a halt. "I had forgotten this."  
  
Kaoru stared blindly into the night, thousands of questions running through her mind, none of them able to reach her tongue.  
  
"Come, it has stopped raining. I will walk you to your room."   
  
She followed him, heart hammering, still unable to speak.   
  
He slid open the shoji screen for her, and closed it behind her. "Good night, Kaoru-oneechan," he teased.   
  
Kaoru fell asleep smiling.  
  
THE END 


	2. Sunrise

Brotherly Love:

Sunrise

By Arysta

"Kaoru-oneechan." 

The phrase echoed in his memory. He had mused over it since he had retreated to his bedroll the night before, trying futilely to link the image of Kaoru-dono with the concept of sibling. Family, perhaps. Sister? He simply could not think of her that way. 

Did she really feel that way about him?

Restlessness drove him out of his room before the sun had risen completely. In his mind he replayed the scene. Over and over he saw Kaoru's eyes as she told him that she needed him. Had he imagined that look, he wondered? For a brief moment his heart had leapt in his chest—a most unseemly thing for a man of his age, let alone a man with his blood-soaked hands—and he had been sure that she was going tell him she cared for him. 

The sun's first red-gold rays colored the horizon as Kenshin stood upon the porch. The wind blew in leisurely gusts, sending eddies of dust across the ground. The rain had vanished, leaving no trace of its passing save his imprinted memories. 

He looked at the washtub, and the steaming kettle that sat beside it. He had already filled the tub partially with chill water from the well. 

It was early, but he needed the tranquilizing repetition of washing to calm his mind.

"Oi!" 

Kenshin looked up. He was up to his elbows in sudsy water. Sano didn't seem to mind, strolling up and flopping onto the porch beside him. 

"Aren't you starting this a bit early today?" He motioned to the lines of laundry swaying in the morning breeze. 

The rurouni took in the ex-gangster's reddish eyes and rumpled clothing. He also noticed that the man reeked of sake. "You haven't slept since yesterday, have you?" 

Sano leisurely crossed one leg over the other. His eyes slid shut as he leaned back on his elbows. "You're grouchy today. What'd I miss last night?"

Kenshin was silent for a moment, considering the question. Kaoru had called Sanosuke a brother. 

It was a fitting analogy.

He wrung the water out of a gi, then placed it in the pile of clothes to hang up. "Kaoru-dono said that she loved me…"

Sano's eyes snapped open, and his shout echoed throughout the Kamiya Dojo. "Finally!" 

Kenshin's hand was on his mouth in an instant. "Be quiet! You'll wake her up!" 

 "Wait a minute," Sano said, eyes narrowed, as soon as Kenshin removed his hand. "If she said that she loved you, why are you out here doing laundry? You should be in there with her!" 

Before Kenshin could gather his wits about him—a determined Sanosuke being a force to rival the fiercest of nature's storms—he found himself being half-carried and half-dragged toward Kaoru's sleeping room.

"Wait!" He said frantically, struggling to free himself from Sano's iron grip. "I didn't finish. She said she loved me… but like a brother!" 

Sano stopped dead. 

Kenshin closed his eyes in humiliation. He hadn't meant to blurt the embarrassing truth out like that. He could still hear the echoes of the assertion ringing in his ears. 

The gangster released his grasp on his gi. Kenshin caught himself just before his face hit the floor, bounding to his feet and trying to regain his lost dignity. 

"I'm sorry," Sano said gruffly. He thumped Kenshin on the back in a friendly, commiserating manner.

Kenshin forced himself to smile as he walked back to the still-waiting washtub. "Don't worry, she didn't really mean it." 

Sano nodded sympathetically, then did a slow double-take. "Wha?"

Kenshin forced a rurouni smile to his face, though inside he seethed with the raw emotion of the Battousai. The warrior that Kaoru's all-too-blatant challenge had called shifted restlessly. Kenshin had spent the morning fighting his darker self, fighting the undisciplined soul within him that wanted nothing more than to charge the gentle Kaoru's room and prove to her that he was, to her, the farthest thing from a sibling.

Sano had become very still, and almost pale. 

Perhaps the Battousai wasn't as firmly leashed as he had thought. 

Kenshin frowned, and unwittingly increased the pressure he was exerting on Yahiko's helpless hakama. 

"Are you sure you're all right?" Sano asked. He folded himself onto the porch, sitting casually, but out of reach. Kenshin could feel the tension that coursed through his friend's body. His brother's body. 

The sibling analogy did fit between them.

"… brother…" Kaoru's voice rang through his memory, bright and cheerful, but edged with uncertainty. Her aura had pulsed…..

The Battousai growled – a subtle encouragement. The warrior liked the direction that Kenshin's thoughts had taken.

Yahiko's hakama split in the Rurouni's hands.

"Damn it!" 

Sano jumped at the curse, then scuttled backwards as Kenshin flung the ruined panels of fabric toward the broad wall of the dojo with near-lethal force. They hit with a wet splat, sticking to the wall for a moment before tumbling to the dirt. 

Kenshin stared at wet trail that marred the otherwise dry wall of the Kamiya Dojo, and tried to regain some hold on the near uncontrollable rage that threatened to drown his senses. The Battousai's bloodlust he could, after so many years, almost ignore. The dark, cold rage that boiled within him was another fight entirely. A fight made doubly difficult because his Rurouni side had been just as offended by Kaoru's attempt to comfort him.

"Brother," he spit under his breath, aware of his most un-rurouni like behavior.

Tough! If they don't like it, they can leave, the Battousai spit. 

"Do I act like a brother to her?" He asked Sano, pinning him with his eyes, demanding that his friend – his brother-by-choice – answer. 

"Well," Sano smiled in a sickening fashion, "You are awfully protective of her, and kind, and you… well… you don't act all lovey dovey to her…" Sano gulped. "If I didn't know how much you love her… I might have come to the same conclusion, I guess." The lanky man shrugged apologetically. 

Kenshin closed his eyes. He had to force back the anger that was choking him, had to regain control. Somehow. He took a deep breath, consciously invoking the rituals of his training. He concentrated on his heartbeat, on the rush of blood through his veins. 

The exercise reminded him of the night before, of Kaoru's glowing eyes latched on him, traveling over him with an admiration, an interest, so strong that he could almost feel her touch. 

She wanted you. 

The Battousai was right. 

It must be something of a record, the Rurouni thought. Agreeing with the Battousai twice in one morning… perhaps Kaoru's statement had broken his mind completely….

"Lovey dovey," he growled, focus switching from Sano's pale-but-eager face to the already-drying smear on the dojo wall, then to Yahiko's crumpled, ruined clothing and then back to Sano. "I am not lovey dovey."

Sano nodded in agreement, pulling his knees up and regaining some of his normal color. "Exactly. Women… well, women just don't understand sometimes. They don't think the same way men do. With women, you have to… show them that you want them, that you're interested in them."

"Show them?"

Kenshin couldn't believe that he was actually, seriously, listening to Sanosuke lecture him about women. 

"Like with the fox," Sano reasoned, "you have to touch her, to get close to her."

Kenshin, who probably knew better than most how deep Sano's feelings for Megumi really ran, tried to connect his friend's advice with his own actions toward the doctor. 

"I appreciate your help," he stuttered, "but…"

Sano snorted. "You don't get it. Here," he stood up, towering over the shorter man. "Let me show you." Sano slid his arm around Kenshin's shoulder and leaned toward his ear. "You compliment them. They like that. I like to tell the foxy doctor that I like her ears, myself," he frowned, "I don't think that'll work on Jou-chan, though."

Kenshin shut his eyes. He felt a tremendous headache coming on. His palm itched to hold his sword, and the Battousai was laughing his ass off at the entire situation. 

Things, of course, got worse.

Sano leaned even closer, his breath hissing in Kenshin's ear. "You have to be physical, too." He laughed. "I'm not saying you have to attack her or anything, though. In fact, if you're going to attack Jou-chan, you'd better make darn sure that she doesn't have that bokken of hers anywhere near her." The ex-gangster shuddered theatrically. "She can be dangerous with that thing!" He cleared his throat. "And I might have to hurt you," he confided, "so don't attack her, huh?"

"Umm… Hai." Kenshin scratched his head. 

"So when you have Jou-chan all close, you lean into her ear and you tell her something sweet."

"Something sweet?"

This is stupid. If you want a woman, you take her!

Kenshin silenced the Battousai. He didn't agree with the hitokiri's approach to romance, but Sano's concept of seduction didn't sound right either. 

He wished that he had paid more attention to such things! 

A hitokiri doesn't need to know how to romance a high-born woman, the Battousai reasoned. 

Kenshin mused over that fact. It was true – getting a woman for the night had been nothing more than a touch and a suggestive look. Sometimes it hadn't even taken that much.

Kaoru was different, though. Kaoru was soft, and good, and kind. 

"Yeah, sweet words," Sano continued. 

"Call her beautiful, you know.

"Compliment her."

Sano frowned. "Right."

"Heh.. you said that already…" Kenshin struggled to remember what Sano had been saying. 

The ex-gangster waved his hand, dismissing… something. 

"So then you go in for the kill," he whispered.

"The kill?" 

Visions of blood and sprawled bodies didn't match with his hopes of gentle touches and, someday, sweet sensual pleasure. 

"It's a saying," Sano growled. "You don't really kill her!" 

"Ah!" 

"Do you really want to learn this?"

Kenshin debated his response, then bowed his head. "Maa, Sano." He smiled. "I appreciate your help."

Sano eyed him and grunted in satisfaction. He tightened his grasp on Kenshin's shoulders, then grabbed the rurouni's hand and held it tightly. "Okay, you lean in really close," he demonstrated as he spoke, "and then…" 

Kenshin stared up into the taller man's eyes, everything in him focused on that moment, on the advice that, he hoped, would end the foolish circle dances that he had tied himself into with Kaoru. 

"Oooh!" 

Both men turned at the exclamation.

"I'm… I'm so sorry!" Kaoru blushed bright red and clapped her hands to her face, her eyes wide with surprise. "I didn't mean to interrupt…." She trailed off, the blush deepening. 

"What's the hold-up, busu? Is he there?" Yahiko's loud mouth preceded him onto the porch, where he ground to a halt.

Kenshin belatedly realized that Sano's hand was clutched around his own, and he shook his fingers unobtrusively. Sano didn't seem to get the message. 

"You can let go now, Sano," he said quietly.

Sano grunted in surprise, and dropped Kenshin's hand.

"Whoa," Yahiko whistled, his eyes as wide as Kaoru's. "I didn't know you two were…"

Kaoru slapped her hand over the boy's mouth and bowed slightly. "Gomen nasai," she murmured, dragging the boy from the room. She slid the shoji shut behind her, leaving the rurouni and the ex-gangster alone again. 

"What was that?" Sano wondered aloud. 

Kenshin finished his brief analysis of the situation. He looked at Sano, who still had one arm around him, and then at the hand that the bigger man had been holding. He blushed furiously. 

The Battousai summed it up in one succinct phrase.

Oh, shit! 

"Oi, Kenshin, when's breakfast?" 

* * * 


	3. Noon

Brotherly Love: Noon

By Arysta

"That misbegotten…" Kaoru slashed the air with her bokken. "He misled me!"

She was sweating. Her hair stuck to her neck and the back of her head. She licked her lip and tasted salt. She was alone in the dojo. Yahiko had deserted her after his five hundred swings were finished. Why did she persist in her frantic practicing?

Kenshin's face flashed in her mind. His hand, gently touching Sanosuke's. Their bodies close together. Sano's height against Kenshin's slight frame.

With a growl and a swing, Kaoru succeeded in driving the vision away.

"What's up?" Sano asked.

Kaoru jumped and whirled on him. "How dare you come in here?"

"What?" He looked around the dojo. He scratched the back of his head. The fishbone in his mouth twisted in a circle.

Kaoru sighed and put down the bokken. How was she supposed to deal with this situation? She had been thinking of Kenshin for weeks now, had felt the tension that welled between them. Had she deceived herself so thoroughly? Was it possible to fool oneself so well?

"You missed lunch," Sano said, leaning against the wall. The sunlight poured through the rice paper windows and the open door. Puddles of brilliance dotted the floor around Sano's feet. Even the heavens had given the couple their blessing.

Kami-sama, she was getting maudlin!

"I was practicing."

"Yeah, noticed."

"Did you have something you wanted to say?"

He looked uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other, twirling the fishbone restlessly. Kaoru felt a dark, vengeful satisfaction at the sight of the big man squirming.

"Is it so hard to explain nature? I understand," she couldn't quite keep the bitterness from her tone. "Love is something that cannot be dictated."

Sano blinked and froze.

"That's okay," she said, patting the gangster on the arm. "You'll still be my brother, ne? I'm just sorry you kept this from me!" A sudden thought occurred. "Does Megumi know, or am I first? Have you told her? Have you?" The idea of holding this bit of knowledge over the female doctor's head went a long way toward lifting her sinking spirits.

"Umm…"

Kaoru watched her friend… then slowly reddened. She clapped her hands to her cheeks in embarrassment. "Gomen," she said. "I'm prying!"

That's it, she thought, make him feel self-conscious about their relationship!

"Jou-chan, I think you…"

"Ah, I know, I know." Cheeks still burning, she put her hands on Sano's arm in a comforting gesture. "It's none of my business at all." She glanced past him, out the door of the dojo, and saw with some surprise that the morning had already burned into afternoon. Her stomach rumbled at that same moment, reminding her that she hadn't had breakfast before throwing herself into practicing.

"Excuse me," she said, setting her bokken aside. "I'm very hungry!" She patted her stomach. "You got lunch?"

Sano's eyes brightened immediately. "A little," he said slowly. "Kenshin said something about fixing you a snack for later."

Kaoru almost smiled, thinking about how carefully Kenshin cared for her – fixing her meals, always being so gentle and rurouni-like…

"Then we'd best make our move," she said, flipping her hair behind her shoulder and heading off toward the kitchen. Sano fell into step behind her.

* * *

Sometimes, he hears his _shishou's_ voice, "**_Baka_****_ deshi!", _**winding down his memories and sounding as if he were standing right behind his shoulder, as he had most often when the words had come rumbling from his _shishou's_mouth.

Today is one of those days.

Somewhere, Kenshin was convinced, he lost his mind. Between _onii-chan_ and the ludicrous conversation – if it could be called that – with Sano, his mind had gone a-begging without him.

And now he was hearing voices.

Kenshin dug his hand into the warm rice, focusing on feeling the individual grains and the heat. There was something comforting about making _onigiri_, he thought. Something easy and perfunctory.

_Give it up._

His teeth clicked together at the Battousai's private growl.

_You don't need to be makin' riceballs, you need to be tossing that girl down and teaching her how the wind blows…_

The images were harder to push away than the voice. Dark hair on his futon, Kaoru's mouth beneath his, her lips soft and warm. He clenched his hand and thrust the images away, then looked down at the warm rice that spilled from between his fingers.

He clicked his tongue and submerged his hands in a bowl of cool water. The rice washed away. The morning's troubles didn't. With slow, deliberate care he formed another riceball. Kaoru would be hungry when she finished practicing.

He thought about his increasing problems as he cleaned up the cooking space. The riceballs rested on the counter, waiting for Kaoru's pleasure. Kenshin's mind whirled with ideas, ways to introduce the topic…

"Sano was teaching me…"

"Sessha needed help with…"

"It is all a misunderstanding…"

None were good ideas.

_Come here'd work_, the Battousai offered. _Then a hot kiss._

Kenshin rolled his eyes. Yeah, and knowing Kaoru he'd earn himself a fat lip and a sore groin in a matter of seconds. Not a good idea.

The room returned to rights, Kenshin laid down the towel he had tossed over his shoulder as he cooked. The sun beckoned him outside, into the warmth. He had been up late, and, his shifted his shoulder, he had worked hard the night before. Perhaps the perfect idea would come after a short rest.

He meandered outside and propped himself against a post, letting his eyes slide halfway shut.

His mind turned to thoughts of maddening, confusing, obtuse women who spoke in tongues other than his native Japanese. Of women who wielded bokken rather than brooms and of women who followed their beloved to the battle rather than wait at home as they should.

* * *

Kenshin was outside, his hair blowing in the wind, she saw as she neared the kitchen. Hearing Sano behind her she hurried into the room. She didn't want either of them to feel like she was hovering. She heard Sano's low rumbling voice just as she spotted the onigiri that Kenshin had left for her.

She took one and sighed. Sano's words drifted to her in the silence.

"I didn't mean to…"

"I know," Kenshin replied. He sounded tired.

"I'll talk to her. I'll make sure she understands, okay."

Kenshin exhaled loudly. "Please, no. Maybe…maybe it's best this way."

"What?" Sano squawked loudly. "But she thinks…"

"I know what she thinks…"

Kaoru narrowed her eyes. What did she think that they were concerned about?

"We're not…"

"No."

There was a pause. Kaoru found herself squeezing the hapless riceball and forced herself to loosen her grasp.

"Well, at least it's progress," Sano said finally. "This morning she thought of you like a brother. At least now she's thinking of you as a man, right?"

There was a loud thonk, like something hard hitting something else equally hard.

"I mean, it's not that much farther to go, to get her thinking about you man who may be interested in her, now is it?"

Kaoru's heart thumped spastically, and she couldn't resist peeking around the corner of the door to look. Sano was sitting opposite the rurouni, looking awkward and at loose ends. Kenshin was sprawled out with his head propped back and his eyes closed. He looked lost, dispirited.

They weren't touching. They weren't talking in intimate tones.

_A man_ _who may be interested in her_?

"Hey, you can't just let her keep thinking we're…" Sano trailed off awkwardly, then sighed and leaned forward. "You can't. You love her and well…you're probably the best thing that's ever happened to Jou-chan, you know. This whole situation is just…wrong."

_You love her…_ The words kept echoing in Kaoru's head. _You love her…

* * *

_

Note: Thanks to MZ.AMbER EYES for clarification of the spelling of Japanese terms. Much appreciated!


	4. Dusk

Brotherly Love: Dusk

By Arysta

She had waited patiently. Well, half a day was patient, right? Still, Kenshin had made no move to approach her for any reason, romantic or otherwise. In fact, he seemed to have spent the entire day avoiding her. After a few hours, it got incredibly irritating.

She didn't want theatrics. It wasn't like she was dreaming of him rushing to her and sweeping her into his arms and confessing his love in a dashing and heart-pounding scene. She didn't want promises of eternity or passionate assaults at every corner. She didn't expect him to make an offer of marriage or to take up residence on her futon. Certainly there was attraction between them, but physical diversions weren't the first thing she thought of when she contemplated their relationship.

Following these trains of thought, by the time the sun was beginning to redden and its rays to caress the horizon with warm light, Kaoru had come up with a plan.

It involved dinner from Tai's restaurant, invitations to Megumi and Sano, and a certain amount of forbearance.

Fortunately for her, things dovetailed nicely and in an orderly fashion. As darkness began to settle around them everyone sat down around the table, lifted their chopsticks, and bowed their heads. The meal began.

Sano ripped into the fish, guzzling sake and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Freeloader, Kaoru thought, eyes shifting to Kenshin, who was picking at the meal before him. He seemed to be eating steadily, but she watched carefully and saw that in truth very little of his meal was actually being consumed.

Yahiko was eating steadily, and Kaoru saw him glancing at her plate every now and then.

"Eh, busu," he said after a loud burp, "what's with all the food? Something happen?"

Kaoru smiled. She knew she could count on Yahiko to say _just_ the right thing at _just_ the right time. She looked slowly around the circle of friends, eyes lingering on Megumi's haughty, questioning look, on Kenshin's introspective withdrawal, at Sano's brief glance from his meal, and finally back at Yahiko.

It was time to put her plan into action.

"Why, yes, it is a special occasion," she told Yahiko, taking a bite of fish and chewing it slowly, savoring both the taste of the meat and the tension that was beginning to filter into the room.

Yahiko grunted. Kaoru translated that as 'please, continue, honored master'. (She had to do a lot of translating of her student's poor skills in communication.)

"Well, I found out the most wonderful news today," she said enthusiastically. "There are two people among us whose bonds go beyond friendship."

Megumi cocked her head. "We're celebrating a relationship's beginning?"

Kaoru nodded smoothly. "Indeed."

"Ehhh?" Yahiko jumped to his feet and pointed at Kenshin. "You finally caved to the busu's advances? No!" Tears streamed down Yahiko's face. He stared at Kenshin as if he were a god crumbling to dust – which, in Yahiko's mind, perhaps he was.

Kaoru's fingers brushed over the handle of her bokken, but she snatched them back before she grabbed the rod and smacked her ignorant student smartly on the skull. This evening could not be interrupted by Yahiko's stupidity. She had a plan!

"Gomen…" Kenshin stuttered, seeming to become aware of his surroundings for the first time. He looked wildly from one staring face and gaping mouth to another…then he turned to Sano.

Sano's cheeks began to glow with embarrassment, and Kaoru watched in gleeful victory as the rooster-headed gangster stammered and stuttered. "No…it's not…that is….no, you don't…"

Kaoru very deliberately filled her cup with sake, then raised it in salute. "To Kenshin and Sanosuke – may you be very happy together!" She smiled, bowed her head in acknowledgement of the liason, and drank deeply.

She was the only one to do so. Everyone else was frozen, locked on their spots, even Yahiko, who still stood, pointing at Kenshin.

Then, in the space of three heartbeats, all hell broke loose.

Yahiko was the first to find his tongue. "Kenshin and… ewwww! Ick! Wah!" He paused, looking at the roof of the dojo as if it housed all the answers of the universe, then calmed, stepped forward, and bowed over Sanosuke and Kenshin. "My congratulations," he said. "May you be happy together." He shot a look over his shoulder, leaned toward Kenshin, then said in an overloud whisper, "Much better than the busu!"

"Maa!" Yahiko ran as Kaoru jumped to her feet, bokken clutched tightly in her hand and all good intentions lost in her anger.

And then Megumi began laughing, and not quietly. She laughed loud, gut-deep laughs that bent her over herself with their force. Tears dripped down her face.

Kaoru began to growl. Her plan was not going as she wanted it to.

Looking thoroughly defeated, Sano finally stood. "Let's not be hasty now," he said, attempting to smile. Like it was a big joke that everyone shared, not a huge misunderstanding. "This isn't what you're thinking!"

This was more to her tune, Kaoru thought. She widened her eyes and stared at him. "You weren't…toying with Kenshin's emotions, were you? How horrible!"

Sano flushed bright red and put his hands out. "No, no of course…"

"Whew," Kaoru said, wiping her hand over her forehead. "I'm so glad. Kenshin is my _brother_," she emphasized the word, "and I don't ever want him hurt."

Megumi went into fresh shrieks of hysterical laughter and Kaoru noticed, from the corner of her eye, that Yahiko was attempting to sneak back to his place at the table. He was probably worried about his food getting cold, she thought darkly. She smacked him in the head with the bokken before he even noticed that she was still grasping it. The resulting thunk was extremely satisfying.

Sano paled as Kaoru set the bokken down again and smiled. It seemed she had unwittingly backed up her threat.

"Ite!" Yahiko danced in place, hands on his head. Megumi sobbed a last, gasping laugh and began to sit up. Sano was staring at Kaoru and slowly sinking back to the floor.

Kaoru's eyes locked on Kenshin, the only participant in the farce who hadn't yet begun to laugh, cry or scream. The only participant whose reaction she really cared about.

His eyes met hers and then, the world faded away. She couldn't look away, could only see those spectacular violet eyes… Kenshin stood up fluidly and stepped toward her. His ki began to build around him like it had the evening before and Kaoru found her breath coming short and her heart beating fast.

He stopped immediately before her and looked down, eyes burningly intense, seriousness engraved on every line of his face. Before she could blink his arms had closed around her and pulled her against his chest, and the world exploded as his mouth came down upon hers.

Had she not been so stunned by the feeling of his lips moving over hers she might have screamed as his ki invaded and wrapped around her, bewildering and arousing her with its strength. His mouth was firm and sweet on hers, and she let herself fall into the sensation of her first kiss.

Kenshin drew his head back, and Kaoru found that her hands were clutching his shoulders. She stared at him in mute question.

"You have been under a misapprehension, Kaoru-dono. You misunderstood my teasing of last night, and between Sano and I..."

His hand burned at her waist, and she heard the echo of his voice in her mind again. _I love her…_

"Between you and Sano?"

"Between Sano and I is nothing but friendship," he said firmly. "This morning, when you found us in such a…position…we were discussing my feelings for you, Kaoru."

"Feelings?"

His cupped her jaw with one hand and brushed a calloused thumb over her sensitive lower lip. The simple gesture almost sent her rocketing out of her skin, and he smiled fleetingly at her jump.

"Yes, feelings, my Kaoru," his eyes slid around her face. Kaoru licked her lips, the motion immediately drawing his attention.

"You…"

"I…" Suddenly, the calm, sensual aura that surrounded them faded. Panic flared on Kenshin's face. His mouth opened and closed as if he were a landed fish drowning in the air. Then he disappeared, flipping backwards and away from her in the blink of an eye.

A short search revealed a relieved, mostly drunken Sano (he apologized profusely while hanging off of her), a stuffed and sleepy Yahiko (he had cleaned off the plates while everyone was occupied) and a scary, scary Megumi, who had Kenshin on the floor before her, stunned.

"…you know. She just can't! So, you see, you should come home with me tonight. The clinic is empty – well, except for old Tanaka-san, but he's deaf and mostly blind. I think… Anyway, my futon is warm and the light is just gorgeous in the…Yeoowch!"

The scream, of course, marked the point when Kaoru stomped over, grabbed a handful of lady doctor's black hair, and pulled as hard as she could. Megumi was tall for a woman, but Kaoru was strong – Megumi lost and went sailing headfirst toward the back wall.

"Kenshin? Kenshin, are you alright?" Kaoru knelt beside the man who had just…well just _about_ confessed his love for her and felt his head. His eyes were swirling and he was muttering gibberish under his breath.

She slapped his cheeks lightly with both hands. Could Megumi have hurt him? Wouldn't it just be so – possible – for Kenshin to survive enemy after enemy, attack after attack, and then be felled by a desperate spinster? On the verge of proposing to his lady-love?

Kenshin coughed and a shudder ran through him. Kaoru sat back on her heels, waiting anxiously. He'd just started to open his eyes when…

Kaoru hooked an arm around Megumi's throat as the other woman tried to toss her aside, pulling her off-balance. They smacked down onto the floor together in a bruised heap and were up in seconds, hands clawing, nails digging, teeth bared.

Kaoru let loose a primal scream and leapt for her bokken. Megumi shrieked like a banshee and followed her. Both of them tripped over Yahiko, who groaned loudly and grabbed his stomach as they all pitched sideways into a jug of sake, showering themselves with the liquid.

Sano seemed to finally notice that _something_ was going on. He upended his jug of sake and then shouted "cat fight!"

Kenshin finally sat up and looked around. There was food on the floor, sake soaking into the tatami mats, and people sprawled everywhere.

"Oro?"

* * *


	5. Midnight Reprise

**Midnight (Reprise)**

Megumi, still stifling laughter and shooting evil glances at Kaoru, left soon after the fight broke up. She hadn't really had a choice, given that Kenshin's method of stopping the fight had involved a bucket of very cold water. Of course, Kaoru had offered to loan her a kimono, but the doctor's nose had flown straight up in the air at that suggestion.

Kaoru's yelled "Better find some salve for those bruises," probably hadn't helped, especially as she had been waving the hand that still held a chunk of dark, ragged, fresh-from-the-scalp hair in the lady doctor's direction.

Sano wandered out on her heels, singing a bawdy song off-key and stinking of sake. He wove back and forth away from the dojo. Kenshin had ignored Kaoru's half-hearted suggestion to follow the rooster head home, an action which had set Kaoru's heart freshly pounding with anticipation.

Yahiko, of course, had pushed the most, picking through discarded plates and resisting any way he could until Kenshin had finally touched the boy's shoulder and motioned him to bed. After a moment of man-to-boy eye communication, Yahiko went.

"I…" Kaoru began, once the sounds of Yahiko's movements had settled and the night had faded to become the usual peaceful refuge of starlight and insect song.

"Relax, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said smoothly, brilliant violet eyes locked with hers. "It's been a long day. Go prepare yourself for bed. I'll join you once I finish the dishes." He motioned toward the piles of dinner dishes that were stacked on the counter in the kitchen.

"Ah…" Kaoru felt her face erupt in flame, and just managed to not slap her hands to her burning cheeks. "Yes," she stammered out.

He smiled and turned to do the washing, slowly tying his apron around his waist.

Kaoru watched his face in the lamplight for a long moment, smiling, and then went to her room.

She fell asleep listening to the gentle sound of crickets and the soft chinks, thunks and splashes of the washing.

* * *

He woke her with slow touches on her face and hands. They felt like the caresses of summer sunshine, warm, powerful and engulfing. She woke, blinking, to her body heating and softening for him, to his open expression of fascination and delight at her response. It was still dark, still silent, still miraculous.

She reached up, catching one hand and twining her fingers with his, palm to callused, sword-worn palm.

"I love you, Kaoru-dono," he said softly.

"You could have just told me," Kaoru grumped, sitting up.

Kenshin pulled her into his arms and rocked her against his chest. "Ah, Kaoru-dono, I could have 'just' done many things, but I did not. But it was not negligence on my part, more…fear."

"Fear?" Kaoru laughed, craning her neck back to look at him. "Big ex-hitokiri, afraid?"

Kenshin smiled softly and brushed a lock of midnight hair from Kaoru's eyes. "Yes, afraid. Afraid of making a wrong move. Afraid of rejection too," he said grimly. He put his hands out and the lamplight shimmered over his palms. "Much blood has touched these hands. I am not a pure or righteous soul. You deserve much better than I."

Kaoru's fingers touched his wonderingly. She half-expected to be rebuked for her actions, but no rebuke came. Kenshin's hands were hard and strong, his fingers lithe. They trembled at her touch and a feeling of awe swelled in her heart.

"I'm not a young girl, Kenshin. I don't expect to be wooed with flowers, or married and set on a pedestal. I don't want to wear silk kimonos, take up tea-serving or cooking. I don't want to be the wives that I see in the streets any more than you are one of the husbands of the village." She looked up from his fingers and met his gaze. "I want you. Your past is your past, and you are not a killer now. You are a rurouni, a wanderer."

He nodded, wordless, and closed his hands around her fingers. "A wanderer no longer," he said softly. "I have found a home. You are my home, Kaoru."

Kaoru turned her face, meeting him halfway and touching her lips to his in a silent expression of her acceptance and desire. Need surged and ebbed, slow and hot in her belly. She twisted and closed her arms around his neck even as his hands settled around her waist and he pulled her tightly to him.

They broke apart, and Kaoru stared at him in the sputtering lamplight. Kenshin's violet eyes were shadowed with something thick and heavy and exciting, and she smelled the musky maleness of him. Thrillingly, his ki cocooned her just as his arms did, sending sparks up and down her spine.

"Marry me," he said, eyes dipping to her mouth then meeting her gaze once more. His hands tightened against her bad. "Marry me tomorrow."

Kaoru smiled, laying her head on Kenshin's chest. "Yes, I'll marry you," she said softly. So softly that he had to bend his head to hear her. She set her mouth against his neck and kissed the skin there, feeling the thrumming of his blood beneath her lips.

His kissed her once more, lovingly, possessively, then he set her from him carefully.

Kaoru wasn't an inexperienced child, and recognized the desire that gripped him. A desire her own body echoed, a wanting that made her blood pump hot and her lungs labor harshly.

"Come to my bed," she said boldly, embracing her years and her needs and ignoring the embarrassment that flared within her.

He grinned, but shook his head negatively. "When we are married, we'll share my bed," he said finally. "Until then…" he stood and inclined his head. "Good night, Kaoru." He walked to the shojo screen, sliding it open and then closed again once he'd passed the threshold.

Kaoru blinked, almost uncomprehending, then growled a low, hungry sound of frustration before snuffing the lamp, climbing back into her blankets and setting her head on the pillow. "Kenshin no baka," she muttered. Her body burned with unfulfilled longing, and more, her heart longed to be held in reassurance. What if he forgot his confession, she wondered. What if the morning light woke her and it turned out to be a long, lovely dream?

"Sleep, koishii," his voice came to her through the shoji and she flipped in her blankets, staring at the door. Slowly she made out his form, sitting against the wall, sakabatou propped against his knee. A familiar, watchful shadow.

"Kenshin," she said, voice slurred. Sleep was claiming her again.

"Yes?" His voice was a dark ribbon of moonlight, caressing her, loving her.

"Will you love me tomorrow?"

He chuckled, a brief flutter of sound. "Always, koishii. Always."

_To Be Continued…_


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Have they left yet?" Kaoru whispered to her new husband.

He didn't peek behind the corner, though he did allow the corners of his mouth to curve in a satisfied, amused smile. "Soon," he said, ignoring his own longing and anticipation. They had been married that morning, and had repaired to the dojo soon after. The gathering of their friends had been unsurprising, and both he and Kaoru had joined in the after-wedding revelries with eagerness, Kaoru rather more than he had been anticipating. Kenshin rather suspected that his new bride was becoming anxious about their wedding night.

She growled from around the corner, and he could bear it no longer. Looking around him carefully, he ducked into the shadows and gathered her into his arms, holding her tight against him.

"Are you scared, koishii?" he asked gently. He tried not to stare at her lips or her milky throat, both of which he had been fantasizing about licking and kissing for far too long to make the wait for their guests to leave a pleasant experience. He dipped his head, brushing his lips against her neck, sliding his hand into the silky ink of her hair.

"I'm not scared!" she protested, squirming in his grasp. "I know what a man and woman do in bed, and I know that it's pleasurable, not something to be frightened of!"

Kenshin lifted his head and smiled at his little cat, enjoying the pleasurable surge of passion that went through his blood at her words. "Do you now," he murmured.

She turned stormy blue eyes on him. "Certainly! I didn't need her," she glared over his shoulder, "telling me hideous stories on my wedding day!"

Ah, so that was what the lady doctor had been doing, spiriting Kaoru off for a "chat" after the ceremony. Kenshin pulled his beloved against him. "I'm sure she was just trying to help," he said.

"Right," Kaoru said, sounding completely unconvinced.

There was, of course, nothing to argue to that. "Come," he said feeling the pulse of his blood, warm and thick in his veins, and wanting nothing more than to pull his beloved to him and teach her the ways of pleasure. "They won't miss us."

Kaoru stared up at him. "Are you insane? We can't leave them in the dojo and sneak off!"

"You snuck off, and the dojo is fine. There hasn't been a drop of sake spilled or a toe set out of line. Everyone is happy for us. They'll understand."

"I left you in charge while I snuck off," she reminded him. "And _me_ being gone is different from both of us being gone!"

Kenshin sighed, stooped, and swept her into his arms. She gasped, and locked her hands around his neck to steady herself. She was light, soft, and sweet-smelling. No, no one would miss them.

The murmur of conversation faded as he carried her to his room, entering the house from the kitchen door. His room was removed from the front of the dojo, secluded and remote. He had taken the time to straighten his belongings, not that they were ever in much disarray, and change his bedding in anticipation of just this moment. Kaoru seemed to appreciate his thoughtfulness as he laid her on his pallet and turned to slide the shoji screen shut.

With an impish smile, she pulled the combs from her hair, sending the waves cascading around her shoulders in a jasmine-scented wave. Her hands fell to her obi, pulling at the belt. She looked like a siren, lying on his bedding, smiling at him seductively.

Kenshin pulled the belt of his gi, loosening the fabric, and joined her on the bedding. She fell into his arms easily. Their lips met and meshed and their hands busied themselves sliding shoulders free and tugging material from between them.

Her hands were on his chest, palms flat, when he heard the first sounds of feet and yells. Thumps and shudders against the dojo walls pulled them apart. Kaoru's desire-softened gaze hardened at one spectacular thwack against the wall, and further at the roar of laughter that followed.

"Understand, huh," she muttered, pulling away and tugging her clothing to rights. Her hair still fell around her shoulders, mussed, and her lips were kiss-swollen. "Not on my wedding day…"

The shoji ripped open. Kaoru, still straightening her obi, looked up, then narrowed her eyes. Kenshin calmly finished tying his gi, sighing at the loss of opportunity, but feeling peculiar warmth in his chest nonetheless.

"Oi, there you are!" Yahiko grunted, then turned his head down the hall. "Found them!" he yelled. "They were in Kenshin's room!" Shouts and footsteps began to head their way. "Kenshin," he said, "what did you do to the busu? She looks scarier than usual."

Kaoru's eyes flashed mercury, and she leapt to her feet. "What did you say?"

"I said you're look more hag-ish than usual, busu!"

"Aaargh!" Kaoru screamed, and launched herself out of Kenshin's room, down the hallway after her laughing, fleeing apprentice.

Megumi and Sano appeared in the doorway. Sano scratched his head. Megumi held his arm, shaking her head. "I knew that she would be too scared of marital intimacy to fulfill her womanly duties," she said sorrowfully. "Poor Ken-san, you must be devastated!"

Sano caught Megumi as she stumbled into the room. "Hey fox-lady, ease up. I think Kenshin can handle things from here. Let's go see if we can find any more sake in the kitchen, eh?" He steered the tearful woman from the room, turned back, and winked at Kenshin, mouthing, "You're welcome."

Perhaps, Kenshin thought, standing up, Sano wasn't as dim as he appeared to be after all. He went into the corridor just in time to see Sano's hand inching down Megumi's back and to hear the rooster-headed fighter's murmured, "If you need comforting…" before the loud smack of hand meeting cheek echoed and Megumi, suddenly tearless and proud, grabbed Sano's sloshing sake jug and stalked away.

"Thank you for trying," Kenshin said, slapping Sano on the shoulder when he neared the taller man.

"No problem," Sano said distractedly, staring after the lady doctor, his hand buried in his hair. He turned to Kenshin, eyes sharpening with interest. "You fixin' dinner tonight?"

Kenshin blinked, listening to the howls and taunts in the distance from Kaoru and Yahiko, and the methodical thunk of a sake glass hitting a table again, and again, and smiled. "Riceballs?"

Sano grinned. "Sounds good." The glass's thunk sounded again, and this time Sano jumped. "Gotta go rescue my drink!" He went off on his mission.

Kenshin wandered into the kitchen. Beyond the window he could see his bride and her apprentice running back and forth in the backyard, bickering like children. Kaoru's hair streamed behind her as she ran, screaming and slashing the air with her bokken.

Kenshin laughed and fetched the rice.

It was nice to be home.

_The End_


End file.
